A Study On Leprosy Isolation Policy And Measures In Japan(1907—1953)

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the infection of susceptible individuals with Mycobacterium leprae,which has a history of nearly 2,000 years in Japan.Leprosy is not only a disease in the medical sense,but also has social and political connotations.During the Edo period,leprosy patients were socially excluded because of the perceived causes of “karma”,“tenshi” and “genetic disease”,and leprosy patients enjoyed some privileges despite their low status.In modern times,under the influence of Western colonialism and nationalism,Japan accepted the view that “leprosy =backwardness” and leprosy was regarded as a national and ethnic disgrace.With the discovery of Mycobacterium leprae,Japanese society gradually realized that leprosy was an infectious disease rather than a hereditary disease,and in 1907,Article 11 of the Law on the Prevention of Leprosy was introduced to take the initiative to treat stray patients and poor patients in society,taking the first step toward mandatory isolation of leprosy patients.In 1931,Japan promulgated the Law on the Prevention of Leprosy,which legalized mandatory isolation,and then launched a nationwide campaign to find,report,and enforce the isolation of leprosy patients,and then to eliminate leprosy.After the defeat of Japan in the war,Japan was able to eliminate leprosy in the United States.After the defeat,Japan underwent democratization and reform under the U.S.occupation,and the effective treatment of leprosy with the drug Promethazine was achieved.From the medical,social and political points of view,it seemed as if the conditions were in place for patients to fight for their rights and return to society.The issue of amending the “Laika Prevention Law” was hotly debated by the directors of the sanatoriums,the "All Patients Association" representing patients,and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.However,because of the contempt for leprosy by the Allied Forces Command in Japan,the hostility to the Autonomous Society movement,and the difficulty in managing leprosy patients smuggled in from the Korean Peninsula,the new Lae Prevention Law was enacted in 1953 as a continuation of the old law,and the “No Lae Prefecture Movement” entered its second phase.Although the Ministry of Health and Welfare tried to maintain a balance between mandatory isolation and the protection of patients’ rights,incidents of disregard for patients’ human rights occurred frequently.The new “Leprosy Prevention Law” combined with the eugenics policy to legalize sterilization of leprosy patients,continuing the inhumane medical policy.In conclusion,although the leprosy isolation policy in modern Japan originated from medical knowledge,it was more politically motivated,and medical isolation measures were deeply involved in social management.The Japanese government used the stigmatization,exclusion,and “purification” mechanisms of leprosy patients to create a “healthy nation,” and medical leprosy isolation became a means of slaughtering marginalized people.